PV Sindhu turns 'Fabrizio Romano' to introduce new coach Hafiz Hashim

Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu welcomed former Malaysian badminton player Mohammad Hafiz Hashim as her new coach in a social media announcement on Tuesday.

"HERE WE GO!! In typical Fabrizio style, I am thrilled to announce Hafiz Hashim as my new coach!!," Sindhu, who is currently in Yeosu for the Korea Open Super 500 tournament, wrote in a social media post.

"After a long, drawn-out process, I am ecstatic to declare that I have chosen the incredible Hafiz Hashim as my coach. Hafiz possesses all the traits I was seeking in a coach, including height, speed, and an attacking instinct," read the post.

Hafiz who is a former All England Champion has worked with Sindhu at the Suchitra Badminton Academy ahead of the Canada Open.

"As a former All England champion in 2003, he sure has the pedigree as well. Having coach (Misbun) Sidek as his old coach, just adds this aura to him. I extend a warm welcome aboard, Coach Hashim. Buckle up folks, it's going to be a hell of a journey with Captain Hafiz at the helm," the post concluded.

In February, the 28-year-old from Hyderabad parted ways with Korean coach Park Tae-Sang, who was instrumental in her winning the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

The double Olympic medalist was trying to get Hafiz to coach for weeks and she had written to the Sports Authority of India (SAI), seeking its approval to train under the former All England champion Malaysian as part of the Sports Ministry's Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).

The news comes on the day when PV Sindhu dropped to world rank 17, her lowest in this decade.

Sindhu has been inconsistent in 2023 and her drop from world rank 7 in January to 17 in July is proof of it. With the Olympic qualification period for the 2024 Games having started from May 1, the Indian was looking for someone to guide her in her preparation for the Games, where she is eyeing the coveted gold.

After coming from a five-month-long injury lay-off, Sindhu went through multiple early exits in different tournaments. The highlight of the season has been a final finish at the Madrid Spain Masters Super 300 and semifinal finishes at Malaysia Masters Super 500 and Canada Open Super 500.

While national chief coach Pullela Gopichand has been her mentor, Sindhu has worked briefly with Kim Ju Hyun on her way to her World Championships gold in Basel. Since Kim left abruptly, she has been training with Park.

Hafiz, the 2002 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, was a junior coach at the Badminton Association of Malaysia before he joined the Suchitra Academy in Hyderabad in February on a three-year contract.

Sindhu had sought the guidance of the 40-year-old, who was also the coach of Awadhe Warriors in the Premier Badminton League, during her visit to the Suchitra Academy where she goes for strength and conditioning coaching under trainer Srikanth Verma.